azrael
I have not come to cause issue with you and Elena. She chose you and I chose another.
In his quiet admission, Azrael knows that the shame and admonition Tenebrae heaped upon himself was punishment enough. As Azrael stands before his once-rival, the shed-star is struck by the look of him. Though young, Tenebrae looked like he aged far more than he should have. His coat lacked the glow it once held, his body thin in places where it should be rounder, his cheeks sunken, and his eyes wrapped tightly with gauze. He quirks an eyebrow, the bite in his voice softening some in pity, for the creature who stands before him is every bit as broken as Azrael had felt the day Elena had told him all which had transpired. That day, his heart had shattered into a thousand pieces, and he’d wondered if warmth would ever fill his soul again.
Was that what Tenebrae felt now? Azrael wondered, as a sigh escapes his lips. For the man cannot stay angry for long, the red in his mind diminishing some as his edge fades away. It simply wasn’t in his nature to hold a grudge, however warranted – for as hurt he was at the sight of the monk, Azrael knew he had to be a bigger man. He owed as much to Elena. In forgiving her, he needed to leave it all behind them – only then could the two move forward in any semblance of a stable relationship.
So while perhaps Tenebrae deserved nothing from Azrael and Elena, the shed-star shows him grace.
He shifts aside so the monk can stand beside him, flinching only slightly as the other’s shadows reach for his light. For a moment, the two stand quietly, until Tenebrae asks about Elliana. The question gives Azrael pause, as he remembers his suggestion to Elena. A man has a right to know, Elena… this is not something you should keep from him It wasn’t his business if she’d decided to hide the truth. It wasn’t his place to tell.
These thoughts cloud in his mind as Azrael clears his throat to swallow the lump which had formed there, blinking away emotion, unable to make eye contact with the monk. “Elliana is an old soul, with an artist’s heart and her mother’s kindness. She is bright and curious, if not a bit introspective and reserved.” He speaks of the girl with pride and fondness in his words, warmth filling him in a way he never thought possible, each and every time he thought of her. For Elli was all the best parts of Tenebrae – a fitting legacy, albeit a hidden one.
He calls Azrael brother, and not for the first time, the shed-star is struck by how different their path might have been, if the golden girl had not come between them. While it wouldn’t be possible for him to forget, Azrael did have it in him to forgive… so he would try – he would try for Elena, and more, for Elli. To be the father she needed, Azrael needed to practice the compassion he would teach. He needed to walk the walk, and to find a path toward harmony, however great the personal sacrifice.
He flicks a glance at the male once more, questions nagging in his mind about the blindfold which stretches across his eyes. But Azrael is too polite to ask what had happened, knowing it wasn’t his business. So he begins to explain what he sees to the blinded stallion, as patiently as a parent might guide a child. “The sun is low now, the stars just beginning to sparkle in the east. Night is a strange thing, for despite all which has happened, the stars continue to rise as they have for thousands of years. Everything seems so inconsequential, on the scale of the universe surrounding us.”
And this too would pass – the stars would march onward, ambivalent to their strife. “I’m sorry too,” he whispers low and quietly, for only the monk to hear.
@Tenebrae
